A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) utilizes an earth-orbiting constellation of a plurality of satellites each broadcasting GNSS signals which indicates its precise location and ranging information. From particular locations on or near the earth, GNSS receivers may detect valid GNSS signals and take various GNSS measurements such as pseudorange, carrier phase, and/or Doppler to calculate navigation information or solution such as GNSS receiver position, velocity, and time. The American global positioning system (GPS), the Russian global orbiting navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the European Galileo positioning system and the Chinese Compass navigation system are examples of GNSSs.
A GNSS receiver is often described by its number of channels. In a GNSS receiver, a channel is a path for an electronic signal that is reserved for a specific GNSS satellite and used for various functions. The number of channels in a GNSS receiver signifies how many GNSS satellites the GNSS receiver can monitor simultaneously. Originally limited to four or five, the number of channels in a GNSS receiver has progressively increased over the years so that a GNSS receiver may typically have a large number of channels for processing signals from many GNSS satellites.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.